arXiv subjects

Lawrence J. Hall

Publications and source records attributed to Lawrence J. Hall.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Dark Energy and Right-Handed Neutrinos

We explore the possibility that a CP violating phase of the neutrino mass matrix is promoted to a pseudo-Goldstone-boson field and is identified as the quintessence field for Dark Energy. By requiring that the quintessence potential be calculable from a Lagrangian, and that the extreme flatness of the potential be stable under radiative corrections, we are led to an essentially unique model. Lepton number is violated only by Majorana masses of light, right-handed neutrinos, comparable to the Dirac masses that mix right- with left-handed neutrinos. We outline the rich and constrained neutrino phenomenology that results from this proposal.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

Evolving Dark Energy with w Deviating from -1

Theories of evolving quintessence are constructed that generically lead to deviations from the w = -1 prediction of non-evolving dark energy. The small mass scale that governs evolution, m_ϕ\approx 10^{-33} eV, is radiatively stable, and the ``Why Now?'' problem is solved. These results rest crucially on seesaw cosmology: in broad outline, fundamental physics and cosmology can be understood from only two mass scales, the weak scale, v, and the Planck scale, M. Requiring a scale of dark energy ρ_{DE}^{1/4} governed by v^2/M, and a radiatively stable evolution rate m_ϕgiven by v^4/M^3, leads to a distinctive form for the equation of state w(z) that follows from a cosine quintessence potential. An explicit hidden axion model is constructed. Dark energy resides in the potential of the axion field which is generated by a new QCD-like force that gets strong at the scale Λ\approx v^2/M \approx ρ_{DE}^{1/4}. The evolution rate is given by a second seesaw that leads to the axion mass, m_ϕ\approx Λ^2/f, with f \approx M.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Simultaneous Solutions of the Strong CP and Mu Problems

The μparameter of the supersymmetric standard model is replaced by λS, where S is a singlet chiral superfield, introducing a Peccei--Quinn symmetry into the theory. Dynamics at the electroweak scale naturally solves both the strong CP and μproblems as long as λis of order \sqrt{M_Z /M_pl} or smaller, and yet this theory has the same number of relevant parameters as the supersymmetric standard model. The theory will be tested at colliders: the μparameter is predicted and there are long-lived superpartners that decay to gravitinos or axinos at separated vertices. To avoid too much saxion cold dark matter, a large amount of entropy must be produced after the electroweak phase transition. If this is accomplished by decays of a massive particle, the reheat temperature should be no more than a GeV, strongly constraining baryogenesis. Cold dark matter may be composed of both axions, probed by direct detection, and saxions, probed by a soft X-ray background arising from decays to γγ. There are two known possibilities for avoiding problematic axion domain walls: the introduction of new colored fermions or the assumption that the Peccei--Quinn symmetry was already broken during inflation. In the first case, in our theory the colored particles are expected to be at the weak scale, while in the second case it implies a good chance of discovering isocurvature perturbations in the CMB radiation and a relatively low Hubble parameter during inflation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Acceleressence: Dark Energy from a Phase Transition at the Seesaw Scale

Simple models are constructed for "acceleressence" dark energy: the latent heat of a phase transition occurring in a hidden sector governed by the seesaw mass scale v^2/M_Pl, where v is the electroweak scale and M_Pl the gravitational mass scale. In our models, the seesaw scale is stabilized by supersymmetry, implying that the LHC must discover superpartners with a spectrum that reflects a low scale of fundamental supersymmetry breaking. Newtonian gravity may be modified by effects arising from the exchange of fields in the acceleressence sector whose Compton wavelengths are typically of order the millimeter scale. There are two classes of models. In the first class the universe is presently in a metastable vacuum and will continue to inflate until tunneling processes eventually induce a first order transition. In the simplest such model, the range of the new force is bounded to be larger than 25 microns in the absence of fine-tuning of parameters, and for couplings of order unity it is expected to be \approx 100 microns. In the second class of models thermal effects maintain the present vacuum energy of the universe, but on further cooling, the universe will "soon" smoothly relax to a matter dominated era. In this case, the range of the new force is also expected to be of order the millimeter scale or larger, although its strength is uncertain. A firm prediction of this class of models is the existence of additional energy density in radiation at the eV era, which can potentially be probed in precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background. An interesting possibility is that the transition towards a matter dominated era has occurred in the very recent past, with the consequence that the universe is currently decelerating.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Why Are Neutrinos Light? -- An Alternative

We review the recent proposal that neutrinos are light because their masses are proportional to a low scale, f, of lepton flavor symmetry breaking. This mechanism is testable because the resulting pseudo-Goldstone bosons, of mass m_G, couple strongly with the neutrinos, affecting the acoustic oscillations during the eV era of the early universe that generate the peaks in the CMB radiation. Characteristic signals result over a very wide range of (f, m_G) because of a change in the total relativistic energy density and because the neutrinos scatter rather than free-stream. Thermodynamics allows a precise calculation of the signal, so that observations would not only confirm the late-time neutrino mass mechanism, but could also determine whether the neutrino spectrum is degenerate, inverted or hierarchical and whether the neutrinos are Dirac or Majorana. The flavor symmetries could also give light sterile states. If the masses of the sterile neutrinos turn on after the MeV era, the LSND oscillations can be explained without upsetting big bang nucleosynthesis, and, since the sterile states decay to lighter neutrinos and pseudo-Goldstones, without giving too much hot dark matter.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Electroweak Supersymmetry with an Approximate U(1)_PQ

A predictive framework for supersymmetry at the TeV scale is presented, which incorporates the Ciafaloni-Pomarol mechanism for the dynamical determination of the μparameter of the MSSM. It is replaced by (λS), where S is a singlet field, and the axion becomes a heavy pseudoscalar, G, by adding a mass, m_G, by hand. The explicit breaking of Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is assumed to be sufficiently weak at the TeV scale that the only observable consequence is the mass m_G. Three models for the explicit PQ breaking are given; but the utility of this framework is that the predictions for all physics at the electroweak scale are independent of the particular model for PQ breaking. Our framework leads to a theory similar to the MSSM, except that μis predicted by the Ciafaloni-Pomarol relation, and there are light, weakly-coupled states in the spectrum. The production and cascade decay of superpartners at colliders occurs as in the MSSM, except that there is one extra stage of the cascade chain, with the next-to-LSP decaying to its "superpartner" and \tilde{s}, dramatically altering the collider signatures for supersymmetry. The framework is compatible with terrestrial experiments and astrophysical observations for a wide range of m_G and . If G is as light as possible, 300 keV < m_G < 3 MeV, it can have interesting effects on the radiation energy density during the cosmological eras of nucleosynthesis and acoustic oscillation, leading to predictions for N_{νBBN} and N_{νCMB} different from 3.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Late Time Neutrino Masses, the LSND Experiment and the Cosmic Microwave Background

Models with low-scale breaking of global symmetries in the neutrino sector provide an alternative to the seesaw mechanism for understanding why neutrinos are light. Such models can easily incorporate light sterile neutrinos required by the LSND experiment. Furthermore, the constraints on the sterile neutrino properties from nucleosynthesis and large scale structure can be removed due to the non-conventional cosmological evolution of neutrino masses and densities. We present explicit, fully realistic supersymmetric models, and discuss the characteristic signatures predicted in the angular distributions of the cosmic microwave background.

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arXiv2003

CMB Signals of Neutrino Mass Generation

We propose signals in the cosmic microwave background to probe the type and spectrum of neutrino masses. In theories that have spontaneous breaking of approximate lepton flavor symmetries at or below the weak scale, light pseudo-Goldstone bosons recouple to the cosmic neutrinos after nucleosynthesis and affect the acoustic oscillations of the electron-photon fluid during the eV era. Deviations from the Standard Model are predicted for both the total energy density in radiation during this epoch, ΔN_nu, and for the multipole of the n'th CMB peak at large n, Δl_n. The latter signal is difficult to reproduce other than by scattering of the known neutrinos, and is therefore an ideal test of our class of theories. In many models, the large shift, Δl_n \approx 8 n_S, depends on the number of neutrino species that scatter via the pseudo-Goldstone boson interaction. This interaction is proportional to the neutrino masses, so that the signal reflects the neutrino spectrum. The prediction for ΔN_nu is highly model dependent, but can be accurately computed within any given model. It is very sensitive to the number of pseudo-Goldstone bosons, and therefore to the underlying symmetries of the leptons, and is typically in the region of 0.03 < ΔN_nu < 1. This signal is significantly larger for Majorana neutrinos than for Dirac neutrinos, and, like the scattering signal, varies as the spectrum of neutrinos is changed from hierarchical to inverse hierarchical to degenerate.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Explicit Supersymmetry Breaking on Boundaries of Warped Extra Dimensions

Explicit supersymmetry breaking is studied in higher dimensional theories by having boundaries respect only a subgroup of the bulk symmetry. If the boundary symmetry is the maximal subgroup allowed by the boundary conditions imposed on the fields, then the symmetry can be consistently gauged; otherwise gauging leads to an inconsistent theory. In a warped fifth dimension, an explicit breaking of all bulk supersymmetries by the boundaries is found to be inconsistent with gauging; unlike the case of flat 5D, complete supersymmetry breaking by boundary conditions is not consistent with supergravity. Despite this result, the low energy effective theory resulting from boundary supersymmetry breaking becomes consistent in the limit where gravity decouples, and such models are explored in the hope that some way of successfully incorporating gravity can be found. A warped constrained standard model leads to a theory with one Higgs boson with mass expected close to the experimental limit. A unified theory in a warped fifth dimension is studied with boundary breaking of both SU(5) gauge symmetry and supersymmetry. The usual supersymmetric prediction for gauge coupling unification holds even though the TeV spectrum is quite unlike the MSSM. Such a theory may unify matter and Higgs in the same SU(5) hypermultiplet.

hep-th↗

arXiv2003

Radiative Electroweak Symmetry Breaking from a Quasi-Localized Top Quark

We consider 5D supersymmetric SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) theories compactified at the TeV scale on S^1/Z_2 with supersymmetry broken by boundary conditions. Localizing the top quark at a boundary of a fifth dimension by a bulk mass term M_t, reduces the strength of radiative electroweak symmetry breaking. For M_t R approximately 1--2, the natural value for the top and bottom squark masses are raised to 500--1200 GeV, and all other superpartners may have masses of the compactification scale, which has a natural range of 1/R ~= 1.5--3.5 TeV. The superpartner masses depend only on 1/R, and are precisely correlated amongst themselves and with the mass of the Higgs boson, which is lighter than 130 GeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Grand Unification in Higher Dimensions

We have recently proposed an alternative picture for the physics at the scale of gauge coupling unification, where the unified symmetry is realized in higher dimensions but is broken locally by a symmetry breaking defect. Gauge coupling unification, the quantum numbers of quarks and leptons and the longevity of the proton arise as phenomena of the symmetrical bulk, while the lightness of the Higgs doublets and the masses of the light quarks and leptons probe the symmetry breaking defect. Moreover, the framework is extremely predictive if the effective higher dimensional theory is valid over a large energy interval up to the scale of strong coupling. Precise agreement with experiments is obtained in the simplest theory --- SU(5) in five dimensions with two Higgs multiplets propagating in the bulk. The weak mixing angle is predicted to be sin^2theta_w = 0.2313 \pm 0.0004, which fits the data with extraordinary accuracy. The compactification scale and the strong coupling scale are determined to be M_c \simeq 5 x 10^{14} GeV and M_s \simeq 1 x 10^{17} GeV, respectively. Proton decay with a lifetime of order 10^{34} years is expected with a variety of final states such as e^+pi^0, and several aspects of flavor, including large neutrino mixing angles, are understood by the geometrical locations of the matter fields. When combined with a particular supersymmetry breaking mechanism, the theory predicts large lepton flavor violating mu -> e and tau -> mu transitions, with all superpartner masses determined by only two free parameters. The predicted value of the bottom quark mass from Yukawa unification agrees well with the data. This paper is mainly a review of the work presented in hep-ph/0103125, hep-ph/0111068 and hep-ph/0205067.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

The Weak Mixing Angle From TeV Scale Quark-Lepton Unification

Unified theories based on an extended left-right symmetric group, $SU(4) \times SU(2)^4$, are constructed in five dimensions. The compactification scale is assumed to be only a loop factor above the weak scale, so that the weak mixing angle is predicted to be close to its tree level value of 0.239. Boundary conditions in the 5th dimension break $SU(4) \to SU(3) \times U(1)_{B-L}$, removing powerful constraints from $K_L \to μe$ while allowing a reliable calculation of the leading logarithm corrections to $\sin^2 θ$. The compactification scale is expected in the 1--5 TeV region, depending on how $SU(2)^4$ is broken. Two illustrative models are presented, and the experimental signal of the $Z'$ gauge boson is discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Wilson Lines and Symmetry Breaking on Orbifolds

Gauge symmetry breaking by boundary conditions on a manifold is known to be equivalent to Wilson-line breaking through a background gauge field, and is therefore spontaneous. These equivalent pictures are related by a non-periodic gauge transformation. However, we find that boundary condition gauge symmetry breaking on orbifolds is explicit; there is no gauge where all the breaking can be attributed to a background gauge field. In the case of a five-dimensional SU(5) grand unified theory on S^1/Z_2, the vacuum with gauge symmetry broken to SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) and that with SU(5) preserved are completely disconnected: there is no physical process which causes tunneling between the two. This allows a certain localized explicit breaking of SU(5) on one of the orbifold fixed points in the theory with SU(5) breaking. Split multiplets on this fixed point are shown not to induce violations of unitarity in scattering amplitudes.

hep-th↗

arXiv2002

SO(10) and SU(6) Unified Theories on an Elongated Rectangle

Maximally supersymmetric SO(10) and SU(6) unified theories are constructed on the orbifold T^2/(Z_2 x Z'_2), with one length scale R_5 taken much larger than the other, R_6. The effective theory below 1/R_6 is found to be the highly successful SU(5) theory in 5D with natural doublet-triplet splitting, no proton decay from operators of dimension four or five, unified mass relations for heavier generations only, and a precise prediction for gauge coupling unification. A more unified gauge symmetry, and the possibility of Higgs doublets being components of the higher dimensional gauge multiplet, are therefore compatible with a large energy interval where physics is described by SU(5) gauge symmetry in 5D. This leads to the distinctive branching ratios for proton decay from SU(5) gauge boson exchange, p -> l^+ pi^0, l^+ K^0, \bar{nu} pi^+, \bar{nu} K^+ (l = e, mu), for well-motivated locations for matter. Several phenomenological features of the higher unified gauge symmetry are discussed, including the role of an extra U(1) gauge symmetry, which survives compactification, in the generation of neutrino masses.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Softly Broken Supersymmetric Desert from Orbifold Compactification

A new viewpoint for the gauge hierarchy problem is proposed: compactification at a large scale, 1/R, leads to a low energy effective theory with supersymmetry softly broken at a much lower scale, α/R. The hierarchy is induced by an extremely small angle αwhich appears in the orbifold compactification boundary conditions. The same orbifold boundary conditions break Peccei-Quinn symmetry, leading to a new solution to the μproblem. Explicit 5d theories are constructed with gauge groups SU(3) \times SU(2) \times U(1) and SU(5), with matter in the bulk or on the brane, which lead to the (next-to) minimal supersymmetric standard model below the compactification scale. In all cases the soft supersymmetry-breaking and μparameters originate from bulk kinetic energy terms, and are highly constrained. The supersymmetric flavor and CP problems are solved.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

A Complete Theory of Grand Unification in Five Dimensions

A fully realistic unified theory is constructed, with SU(5) gauge symmetry and supersymmetry both broken by boundary conditions in a fifth dimension. Despite the local explicit breaking of SU(5) at a boundary of the dimension, the large size of the extra dimension allows precise predictions for gauge coupling unification, alpha_s(M_Z) = 0.118 \pm 0.003, and for Yukawa coupling unification, m_b(M_Z) = 3.3 \pm 0.2 GeV. A complete understanding of the MSSM Higgs sector is given; with explanations for why the Higgs triplets are heavy, why the Higgs doublets are protected from a large tree-level mass, and why the mu and B parameters are naturally generated to be of order the SUSY breaking scale. All sources of d=4,5 proton decay are forbidden, while a new origin for d=6 proton decay is found to be important. Several aspects of flavor follow from an essentially unique choice of matter location in the fifth dimension: only the third generation has an SU(5) mass relation, and the lighter two generations have small mixings with the heaviest generation. The entire superpartner spectrum is predicted in terms of only two free parameters. The squark and slepton masses are determined by their location in the fifth dimension, allowing a significant experimental test of the detailed structure of the extra dimension. Lepton flavor violation is found to be generically large in higher dimensional unified theories with high mediation scales of SUSY breaking. In our theory this forces a common location for all three neutrinos, predicting large neutrino mixing angles. Rates for mu -> e gamma, mu -> e e e, mu -> e conversion and tau -> mu gamma are larger in our theory than in conventional 4D supersymmetric GUTs. Proposed experiments probing mu -> e transitions will probe the entire interesting parameter space of our theory.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

R Symmetry and the Mu Problem

A natural origin for the mu and B parameters of weak scale supersymmetric theories is proposed, applicable to any supersymmetry breaking messenger scale between the weak and Planck scales. Although quite general, it requires supersymmetric interactions to respect an R symmetry with definite quantum numbers, and it requires some new scale of symmetry breaking. The required R symmetry distinguishes the Higgs boson from the sneutrino, preserves baryon number in operators of dimension four and five, and contains R parity so that the lightest superpartner is stable. This origin for mu works for a variety of mediation mechanisms, including gauge mediation, gaugino mediation, and boundary condition breaking of supersymmetry. In any of these mediation schemes, our mechanism leads to a real B parameter, and the supersymmetric CP problem is solved. This R symmetry may naturally arise from supersymmetric theories in higher dimensions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Unification of Weak and Hypercharge Interactions at the TeV Scale

A realistic SU(3)_C x SU(3)_W unified theory is constructed with a TeV sized extra dimension compactified on the orbifold S_1/Z_2, leaving only the standard model gauge group SU(3)_C x SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y unbroken in the low energy 4D theory. The Higgs doublets are zero modes of bulk SU(3)_W triplets and serve to normalize the hypercharge generator, apparently giving a tree-level prediction for the weak mixing angle: \sin^2θ= 1/4. The orbifold boundary conditions imply a restricted set of SU(3)_W gauge transformations: at an orbifold fixed point only the transformations of SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y are operative. This allows quarks to be located at this fixed point, overcoming the longstanding problem of how to incorporate matter in a unified SU(3)_W theory. However, in general this local, explicit breaking of SU(3)_W symmetry, necessary for including quarks into the theory, destroys the tree-level prediction for the weak mixing angle. This apparent contradiction is reconciled by making the volume of the extra dimension large, diluting the effects of the local SU(3)_W violation. In the case that the electroweak theory is strongly coupled at the cutoff scale of the effective theory, radiative corrections to the weak mixing angle can be reliably computed, and used to predict the scale of compactification: 1 - 2 TeV without supersymmetry, and in the region of 3 - 6 TeV for a supersymmetric theory. The experimental signature of electroweak unification into SU(3)_W is a set of ``weak partners'' of mass 1/2R, which are all electrically charged and are expected to be accessible at LHC. These include weak doublets of gauge particles of electric charge (++,+), and a charged scalar. When pair produced, they yield events containing multiple charged leptons, missing large transverse energy and possibly Higgs and electroweak gauge bosons.

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